Happy Birthday
by randxgirl
Summary: COMPLETED! It's Stephanie's thirtieth birthday... and she ain't having a happy one...


Disclaimer: I still don't anyone… I don't own Steph… she owns herself… or her parents own her… and effective October 25, 2003, Paul owns her…

I know I'm a little late. I tried hard to rush this to be able to send it in before Sunday ended, but I wasn't able to make it. I was really busy with school work. Nonetheless, hope you guys enjoy. Belated happy birthday, Stephanie:)

Sunday, September 24, 2006. It's Stephanie's 30th birthday. And instead of going out and celebrating, she's here in a bar, which didn't have much people in yet since it was just nearing 7, waiting for her sister-in-law/best friend. She had something to tell her and when she talked to Steph over the phone this afternoon, she sounded as if something really, really bad was going on. This greatly concerned Stephanie and seeing that she will not seem to have any celebration tonight, as Paul was out to attend to some of Shawn's needs, she suggested meeting up with her sister-in-law to further discuss her problem. She really was not having a great day, and ever since she woke up this morning, things seemed to not go right at all. Wow, talking about having a "happy" birthday…

-Flashback-

Steph's phone alarmed at exactly 7:30 am. Normally, she would be up by 7, but seeing that today was a special day, she decided to give herself a treat by getting some extra sleep.

Upon turning the alarm off, she had a smile on her face. Truly, this will be a special day. Today, she turns thirty. She no longer has that 2 in her age, it was already three. They say maturity and age begins at 30, and whatever that means, she is excited for it. She was not scared like most women are. She's a McMahon, and she's up for any challenge.

Turning to the other side of the bed and finally opening her eyes, she was surprised to find Paul not there. Truth be told that she was not really expecting anything—okay maybe she did… something like flowers and a kiss that would accompany a greeting—but nothing really big and extravagant. But it seemed that she wouldn't be getting anything. How could she be when he wasn't even there? Now that she was fully awake, she decided to get up, and find out what's going on. Well, when it seemed that she was gonna have a happy birthday, things didn't turn out exactly the way she wanted them to. Oh well, who knows… then, standing up, she noticed a note beside her cell phone. It was written in Paul's handwriting, so she hoped it explained his absence during the morning of her birthday. It read:

Hey baby,

Happy birthday! I suppose you woke up expecting me to be there, lying down beside you and go get "busy" before work really starts for the both of us today. But unfortunately, I had to leave and be somewhere else. Shawn called me early this morning… he needs me with something. Luckily, our show got cancelled… I'll be back tonight, and then we could go eat out and celebrate. Anywhere you want… I talked to Shane already, and Aurora's theirs till tomorrow morning. I just love your brother…  I'm really, really sorry…

Love ya!

-Paul

"Great! So it's the best friend over the wife…" Steph was not possessive, nor overprotective. She has never been that way especially when it came to relationships. She understood that even if two people were already married and belonged to each other, freedom was still there and sometimes, that side of life was spent with their respective family and friends. She had no problem with Paul's friends; in fact, she loved them just as much. It's just that… today, today is her birthday. And she wanted to spend it with her loved ones, most especially the love of her life. But no, he chose to be somewhere else.

Nonetheless, she proceeded to the comfort room, and went to prepare for the day. This was going to be a loooong day…

Leaving her room and going down, she was greeted by most of the guys and divas she met up along the way. But their greetings seemed to be lacking. They were given with utmost smiles and genuine voices, but they were just simple "Good morning's!" Does that mean they actually forgot what date it was?

Because of extreme sadness and disappointment, she decided to go back to her room and get some work done. Yes, she chose to skip breakfast because she no longer had appetite. First, Paul ditched her. And now, the guys actually forgot…

Overworking herself to forget about the events that had just happened that morning, she didn't realize that it was already 10:00. Looking at her watch, she realized that she was already thirty minutes late for her meeting with Vince and creative. Vince and the writing team, as well as Steph didn't normally attend house shows. But for reasons unknown to her, they were all asked to report and be at the arena, which the Smackdown show will be in for that afternoon, by 9:30. And now, it was 10. She was gonna be in big trouble…

"Shit! Oh god… Vince is gonna kill me…"

Packing her things and gathering her belongings, she ran down and made her way to the arena as quick as possible.

Though she reached the arena in record time, she was still late. And she knew she was getting reprimanded. But who knows… since today is her birthday… her dad might understand and let this one slip. It's not as if she was always late… But, her first thoughts were proven to be correct when…

"You're late!"

"I know… I'm sorry… I was overworking and didn't realize the time…"

"Overworking! Overworking on what! Already giving Aurora a baby brother or sister!"

Normally, she would blush and turn into a deep shade of red with comments like that being made. Everyone, including their own families, usually teased them regarding that matter. It was as if all they did was to have sex… but today, Vince's statement was not a joke. It was obvious he was mad and Steph was his new target. And as for Steph, as much as she tried to forget about Paul, he just had to bring him up. So she felt bad again, and this time, it was worse. She just didn't comment on it anymore, she didn't know what to say. And it was as if she would be believed…

"Sit down. I want you to explain something to me." Taking a few papers out from his briefcase, Vince continued… "Here are the ratings for the RAW shows for the past three months. Would you explain to me why they are continuously dropping? I thought I asked you for better storylines, and to tell the guys to execute them well. Then why aren't they being reflected on the ratings!"

Stephanie was shocked by what was written in the papers presented to her. She thought, "Past three months? That dated back in June, the same month when DX reunited. And as far as I'm concerned, ratings have gone up during that time. That's the same reason why Vince is pushing for a longer DX run, right? And if ratings decreased, it was only for a few weeks, that weren't even consecutive. It was during the nights when other networks had specials or when it was a holiday. And… why was he blaming me for all of these? I may be the head of creative, but isn't he the be all and end all!" But again, she didn't make a comment.

The ratings of Smackdown that were presented to her weren't good either. In fact, they were worse. "And I thought I told you we need a better product as we move to CW?"

Again, just like before, she kept her thoughts to herself.

And the whole meeting proceeded to be that way. Vince was obviously in a foul mood, and everything that was not going right with the company was blamed on her. Vince blamed her; the writing team blamed her. Of all the days that she could have been late, by some co-incidence, it just happened today. And of all the days that Vince could be mad at her and make her feel like shit, it happened today. And to add to that, of all the days that an emergency would occur to Shawn wherein he really needed Paul's help, it happened to be today. What is with today and all these unfortunate events?

When the meeting was over, it was near lunchtime. And Steph decided to skip that as well, go straight into her own office and get hooked with work, to try and make amends for the errors she supposedly made. So she skipped breakfast, now, she's skipping lunch. It was as if she'd go hungry. With the kind of mood she's in and with the kind of day she's having, she definitely won't have any appetite.

On her way there, she heard two of the guys talking. Normally, she would stop and say hi but because of how things have been this morning, she was just not in the mood to talk to anyone. And when she was pissed, she would walk past straight anybody, even her own family and avoid everyone. But what she accidentally heard intrigued her, and if her day was not already a nightmare, it was now.

"Heard Vince is in an extremely foul mood today…"

"Yeah, the old man just is blowing off on everyone."

"You heard what happened in the office?"

"Yeah, kept blaming Steph… as if it was her fault…"

"Well, can't blame him either… I mean, he may be a McMahon, he's Vincent Kennedy McMahon… but he isn't invincible."

"What do you mean?"

"Haven't you heard?"

"Heard what?"

"Vince is acting that way, because… because he's… he's going through something personal. Heard Linda's filing for a divorce…"

"What! Why!"

"I seriously don't know… nobody knows, I suppose… we just heard that there's something going on. Well, can't blame Linda… I mean, it's hard being Vince's wife. You know, especially with all the shit they've been into… and it's not like they have to be together for the kids… Shane and Steph are already old enough to be able to handle themselves."

"That's right… oohh.. poor Linda…"

"Poor Vince. Have you seen him?"

"No, not yet… but if he continues being that way, poor us… all of us."

With those said, she now understood her father. But wait. Did she hear that right? Her parents were getting a divorce! Since when! And… why? Her parents have stood tall through all forms of storm. They have both emerged victorious in the battles they've taken part of. Together, they've turned the lives of the Americans and people all over the globe when they formed the WWE. Now, they're separating… "Noooooooo!"

Shocked, surprised, confused, dumbfounded and in desperate need of someone to talk to, Steph rushed to her office with tears in her eyes. She didn't know what was going on, and why this was happening to her… now.

Looking for comfort, Steph tried to call Paul on his cell phone. After a few rings, his machine picked up, signaling that he's not able to answer during that time.

"SHIIIT!" She then threw her phone across the room; luckily, it only landed on the couch. She couldn't take it anymore, and allowed the tears in her eyes to fall. Yes, on this special day, she was alone… and she was crying.

When she had composed herself even for just a little bit, she went to pick up her phone and decided to call someone who might have a clue with what's going on—especially with her parents.

After three rings, the phone was answered.

"Hello?"

"Shane?"

"Steph? Hey… Aurora's fine… she's with Rissa… still sleeping… took after you, I guess…"

After not hearing his sister laugh or respond with a verbal attack, Shane got concerned. "You okay? You sound… are you crying? Why? What's wrong?"

"Sh-Shane… did you know about mom and dad?"

"About? What about them?"

"That they're… they're getting… a… a…"

"The D word?"

"You know!"

"Yeah, mom kinda mentioned it to me… she's the one filing for it… think she's had enough of dad… after all these years…"

"EXACTLY! AFTER ALL THESE YEARS… and you're okay with it! What in the hell is wrong with you! And how in the hell were you supposed to know and I didn't? When were you exactly planning on telling me! After the whole world knows about it already?"

"What's with you? Why does it even come out as a surprise to you! This is something inevitable. It's as if they need to be together… they no longer have to be together for anyone.. we're both grown-ups now… they don't need to be together just for us… they are now free and can move on with their individual lives…"

"WHAT? DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE SAYING! CAN YOU EVEN HEAR YOURSELF! ARE YOU INSANE! They don't have to be together for anyone! They need to for each other… they need each other! It's always been that way! WHAT IN THE HELL IS FUCKIN' WRONG WITH ALL OF YOU PEOPLE!" She couldn't take it anymore. She hanged up on him, threw her phone across the room once again and broke down. How could her brother be so calm and cool about it? And why did it seem as if he was blaming their dad for everything? How in the hell did he know and she didn't? Did they plan on keeping that secret from her till she reads about it in the newspaper? And why wasn't Paul answering his phone? She needed someone, anyone! But on the other hand, she also wanted to be alone. She got more and more confused, and thirty years after she was born, she wanted to die right there and then.

By 1:00, another meeting was scheduled, and this time it would be with the superstars, from both brands. Yes, even if the Raw show that day got cancelled, the Raw guys were still expected to attend the meeting. She didn't really know where she got the will and energy from, but Steph was able to make it to the conference room. Reaching the place, she was surprised to find the Raw superstars there. Does that mean Paul and Shawn were there? Or… they didn't know that they needed to be there?

When the meeting started, Vince noticed that both men were not present in the meeting. Because of the foul mood he has been all day, it was no surprise to anyone that he once again snapped. And as what happened this morning, things were blamed on Steph.

"Where in the world are Paul and Shawn!"

"I… I don't know…"

"YOU DON'T KNOW! Why don't you know! I believe one of them happens to be your husband…"

Steph wanted to reply back: "Yeah, and as if you know exactly where mom is at the moment… but, it's not as if that's important anymore… she's leaving you anyway…" But instead, she said: "I… really don't know… I just got a note this morning that… that Paul went to help Shawn with something… and it seems that they're not aware that they have to be here… since today's show got cancelled…"

"But that doesn't mean they could go and do whatever they want! They're needed here… yet, they're not here! Call them."

"I've been trying to call Paul all day… he's not answering…"

"They're both gonna be in deep shit! Warn them about that!"

Throughout the whole meeting, Vince has been shouting at people, and blaming everyone else for anything he found unpleasant that was going on with both shows, like the supposed decrease in ratings. The writing team didn't like it; much more, the guys didn't like it. They work their asses of day in and day out, and they're being blamed for everything! Especially for things that are not under their control!

Because of extreme frustration, Vince walked out of the room. With Stephanie to lead the writing team and the superstars, things got out of hand. One by one, the guys reacted, voiced out their opinions in anger, expressing disgust for everything that creative has made and for what Vince had done. And one by one, they left the room as well.

Now left to themselves as the writing team, Steph braced herself for the worst. She didn't expect it to come, but didn't shun the possibility of it happening. The writers did the same, and left the room the same way that Vince and the superstars did minutes ago. Again, for the nth time, she was alone, and she was in distress.

She remained in that room for the next two hours, while the show was going on. She no longer cared. She really wished she would disappear right there and then.

By 4:00 pm, she received a call from Shane. She didn't know exactly how she managed to pick up her phone and answer the call after what happened between them after lunch and after everything that has happened to her that day. It was he saying that Aurora was sick and was having fever. But he told her not to worry, that Aurora was being well taken care of, and that she would be fine. As a mother, one cannot erase the thought of worrying from Stephanie. She loved her daughter so much, and with her baby being in pain and her not being there to take care of her, as she was miles away, she really felt useless. She was like an existing being that couldn't feel that there was a purpose for her existence.

Though she can't be there physically with her daughter, she made sure she was okay by frequently calling Shane to check up on her baby. Does Paul even have a clue that their only kid was sick at that very moment!

Stephanie locked herself up in the conference room and hasn't left ever since the occurrence that afternoon. She figured that when she no loner saw and interacted with people, then that would result to less trouble. Screw the show, screw her work, screw life in general! To everyone, she just got two words for them…

By 5, she got a text message from Paul that said: "Hey baby! How are ya? Hope you're doing well even if I'm not around… I'm really, really sorry… I can't come home tonight, so that means our date is cancelled. Things got worse here, and I just can't leave Shawn alone. I'll tell you the whole story tomorrow. Come tomorrow, I'll be there already. I promise! I'm really, really sorry…"

Reading that and was now in complete sadness, she thought: "Just great… could things get any worse! Yeah, I'm having an awesome, wonderfully great day!" If he only knew… she chose not to reply anymore. Truth is, she was mad at him already. In fact, she was mad at the whole world. And, she didn't know what in the hell she was supposed to tell him. She wouldn't lie and tell him it's okay, but she wouldn't tell him that he was disappointed and didn't like every minute of it. She didn't have any clue on what to tell him or anyone for that matter, anymore.

Fifteen minutes later, her cell phone rang once again. This time, it was her sister-in-law of ten years and best friend of almost twenty years already, Marissa. Whatever she was feeling during that time had temporarily been replaced by comfort and somewhat relief. That's what how she always felt when she was with Rissa.

"Hello?"

"Steph?"

"Rissa? Hey! How's Aurora?"

"She's… she's doing better… fever has gone down… she'll be fine by tonight."

"Oh, good!"

"Steph? You… you busy?"

"Not really… why? You okay? You sound a little distraught…"

"Uhm… there's… there's something going on… and I haven't told anyone about this… it's between… your brother and me… I… I'm… I'm... no…"

"You're what? It's okay… you can tell me… what?"

"He's here…"

"You want to meet up? I'll meet you in the bar down the road… the usual… then, we'll talk. It's been a looooong day… I think having a girls' night out would be of a little help… you okay with that?"

"Yeah… deal. See ya…"

When they had hung up the phone, Steph got more and more confused. What was going on with her best friend and brother now? First it was her husband, then the guys, then her parents, then creative, then her work, then her daughter and now her brother and best friend. What could be next?

-End of Flashback-

So here she was… waiting. She hasn't taken anything yet all day. No breakfast, no lunch. And seeing that she was in a bar, there seemed to be no dinner as well. But like how she had been all day, she no longer cared.

Seeing Marissa coming in from the door, she could tell that something was not really right with her. Her cheeks were red, and her eyes were puffy. It was obvious, she had been crying. She drove here crying! Wow, thank God nothing happened to her…

"Hey! You okay? What happened?"

Taking the seat across Steph, Rissa replied: "I… I… I need to tell you something… which no one knows about yet. I'm… I'm leaving Shane…"

Shocked by what she just heard, Stephanie screamed. "What?"

"I… I… the kids and I were walking around the park the other day… and then… I… I saw him with someone. Someone tall, blonde, hot, maybe in her early twenty's. And…"

Steph couldn't control herself anymore and though it was rude, she interrupted her. "Well, so what! Maybe it was just a friend. Maybe that was just a former schoolmate. Who knows!"

"I wouldn't mind if it was just someone from school. But… but with him sticking his tongue down her throat… … … … I…" Marissa couldn't continue anymore, and broke down.

"But… but what about the kids? They need the both of you… they need you together. Maybe you should talk and work this out… please… for the kids, for the both of you… for me!" Steph couldn't bear not having Marissa in her life. They have known each other for twenty years and have been the best of friends for almost that long, too. When nobody else could understand her, Rissa was there. And if she and Shane divorced, yes, they could still be friends, but things would never be the same anymore.

"Oh God! What in the world have I done? Why is this happening to me? Why is it that of all the dates that my life could be as screwed up as this, it had to be today?" Steph was obviously frustrated and was desperate for an answer.

"Because Steph…" Then Rissa held out her hands to hold Steph's as a sign of comfort. That's something they're really good at… giving each other a sense of comfort and security. "You. Have. Just. Been. Punk'd!"

Dumbfounded, Steph waited for that to register in her head. And she understood things clearly when she saw Ashton Kutcher, (who was holding a cake) Paul who had her favorite flowers in hand, and the whole roster, as well as her family and creative, come out singing her a birthday song.

"Holy… shit!" Then a smile formed in her face as she slapped Rissa's hands hard, causing her to scream.

"I hate you! I hate all of you!"

Then Ashton laid the cake down, giving her a hug. "And you thought nobody remembered… and it's as if a day could turn out as bad as this…"

Then, she was enveloped into a hug by Paul. Jokingly, she said: "I really, really, really, really hate you! You're not getting any for the next month. I hate you!"

"Payback's a bitch, eh!" he shot back referring to the time when Steph was the accomplice in getting him punk'd.

After being greeted by everyone and confirming that her parents and Shane and Marissa were not getting a divorce, her dad was not mad at her and the ratings were doing fine, Shawn was fine and Paul just had to make sure the plan went well, her daughter's fine and was free from any illness, Stephanie was surely happy. She was beaming and decided to have a celebration. Right there and then, with the bar free from people, they closed the place and made it theirs for the night.

What started out as an extremely bad day turned out to be one big joke. Boy, did she really marry a man with a good sense of humor. She didn't see that coming. But what's truly important is there she was, taking her first step as a thirty year old, in the company of her loved ones: her family, her friends, her co-workers. This was indeed one hell of a happy birthday.


End file.
